A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing
when He sent a gentle breeze
and brought a lovely butterfly
to set my heart at ease.
The happiness of your friendship
and the gentleness of your words
have touched my life in special ways
and now I feel assured.
Thank you for your loyalty
and for reading everyday.
I only hope you find things
to make a happy day.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Aging Gracefully?

This morning, when Joe was off to Dr. appts, I decided to get some of the fall cleanup started. It's a nice day and I was looking forward to working out in the yard. Joe mentioned that we had used the weed whacker last year for some jobs...so I proceeded to getting the weed whacker fixed up and then get out there and do the job. The first mistake I made was to get the wrong one down off the garage wall. The heavy one. I saw my mistake and put it back and got the smaller battery operated one. We have several tools that require a lithium battery and Joe usually keeps them charged and ready to go. I have some difficulty with this weed whacker...my arthritic hands just don't do what they used to do.....and I have lost strength in my hands. It's not so much losing strength, but hands that hurt... don't work as well. After several trips over to the west side of the house...my green chair, a bucket, bottle of water, telephone, clippers, other stuff and the week whacker I was ready. This particular garden is on a slant and hard to work in. Joe operates the weeder with only one hand. It takes me two...to turn it on and then switch and hold the darn thing at the same time.( I used this with no problem in the woods a few weeks ago, so I knew what I was doing.) It whacked a couple of stalks and then stopped. I walked to the garage and got another battery off the shelf. Did my special start up procedure and tried again...it cut a few then stopped. Another walk to the garage and brought the thing with me. Tried the remaining batteries and they wouldn't work. By now, I was tired and frustrated. Here it was 11 am and I hadn't done a thing except fiddle with this thing. I felt like I had worked all morning...with all the walking back and forth and the frustration of not being able to do this job.... I could have cried...in fact if I am to be completely honest...tears did come.

I hate growing old. I want to be able to do things like I did a few years ago. I love gardening and really want to keep on doing these chores. I will never grow old gracefully, I guess....and whoever said that is describing people who don't challenge themselves and then suffer frustration. I just checked on that quote on the internet and everyone who says that they want to age gracefully is still young....what do they know about it?..I'll take what Clint Eastwood says about it....I think being able to age gracefully is a very important talent. It is too late for me.Clint Eastwood

I checked what the French think about aging gracefully. Here are some tips from our French friends across the pond..1..Be a sensual love interest.2.Less is best when it comes to makeup. 3.Sex should continue to be important. 4.A closet with a few outfits of quality instead of one with cheaper clothing. 5.Walking a little. 6.What you eat and how much is vital.Their tips sound a little shallow to me. It seems our French sisters don't mention sweating and working out in the garden.I wonder do French women sweat?

Getting older is rife with emotional landmines too. We have fears of losing our independence, the yearly driver's test, a serious illness, the failure of our eyes...the obituaries. Society is obsessed with pointing out the negatives of aging. We read articles and receive emails over and over dealing with these negatives.

It seems to me that we seniors need to adopt a sense of denial. Instead of resorting to tears this morning...I should have just walked away from it and said to myself..."It's too early for fall cleanup, and besides there's that lovely bon bon and a glass of the bubbly in the house with my name on them." I should have run to my well outfitted closet and donned a little frock of quality, applied a little blush and lipstick.. and waited for Joe to come home...I might have to wear a turtleneck....just hoping he doesn't look at my neck.

12 comments:

Well I mow my own grass but pay a guy 10.00 about once a month to weed whack because all that I ever see is people having troubles with them. Being technical idiot I can just imagine what that would be like for ME! :)

And the last time my SON came to weed whack for me he spent most of his time fiddling with the thing, then he had to go to Lowes for a part, etc. Good grief I'd use my scissors first, lol! :) So it is the weed whacker not you ...those things are from the devil : )

Meanwhile that little chipmunk in the other story is just adorable. I have squirrels but no chipmunks at all as far as I know. We had a fairly tame one when I was a kid growing up in the country...that's about it! Donna over at An Enchanted Cottage blog has those videos of her little "chips" eating out of her hand and that amazes me. My little squirrels come very close but I have not gotten them to be that tame ...

It is so important that our mind's continue to be active, as well as our bodies! Not always easy. My dad is 81. He is so frustrated that he can't do what he used to be able to. We certainly need to cherish every moment.

I hate the idea of aging, too, and have often wondered what it means to age gracefully. I've always thought it meant that we don't allow ourselves to get mean and crotchety, that we plug a smile on our faces and pretend our knees don't hurt and we can still wear sexy high heels...if only we could afford them on our Social Security checks.

I love this post, Balisha, it's written straight from your heart, no holds barred and with your wonderful sense of humor as well. I will tell you that those weed whackers are horrible little machines and I stopped using ours after it gashed me in the shin.

I've been through a long bout of feeling like I was too old for many things and the truth was I just wasn't determined enough. Maybe you going back and forth for the batteries was your way of saying you were going to win the battle...not give up. That's a good thing!

I seem to have those feeling of not wanting to grow old when I'm at family gatherings and I watch my daughters and other young women in the family talking about shopping and parties, their jobs and young children. It makes me feel that my life has passed by in a wink of an eye, yet those days are still so embedded in my memory. And I feel like an outsider, not being able to participate in the conversation, like I'm wearing a sign that says "The Older Generation".

Well, there is that old saying...accept that you're going to grow old, it beats the alternative!

Dear, dear Balisha ~ Aging gracefully is a hope of mine, a hope as I don't want to become disgruntled about my life.

I really could feel your frustration and totally understand your tears from yesterday. One thing about tears is that they release tension, and then we can move along a little further in this journey. I just did a quick google search and tears release endorphins.

I am easily frustrated these days, but am making forward progress.

I hope today is a better day for you than yesterday. I think you are aging gracefully by living each day that God blesses you with, with a thankful heart, a positive attitude and the desire to still want to get out and do things, only more slowly, and keeping a sense of humor.

Balisha,I understand all you sharedjust do not fall 10 feet down a slope and land in a gravel drive like meLife is beginning to be differentand not like we wantbut we will have to acceptThat is the difficult part when you have been accustomed to doing all you want to do.

Balisha,I certainly think you summed it up all very well and with a real sense of reality without being gloomy!It is all a fact-and one we of course have to accept. My goal too is to age gracefully and as happily as I can. We have our Father-in-Law living with us for a few months and his quiet presence has been a reminder that we must "work," on this business of growing old! Love Clint's quote!